The U.S. Justice Department announced on Thursday that it has withdrawn from a settlement with the National Association of Realtors, after the department determined that the settlement will not adequately protect the ability to investigate other conduct by NAR that could impact competition in the real estate market and may harm home sellers and home buyers. Additionally, the department has filed to voluntarily dismiss its complaint without prejudice.
“The proposed settlement will not sufficiently protect the Antitrust Division’s ability to pursue future claims against NAR,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Richard A. Powers of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division in a prepared statement. “Real estate is central to the American economy and consumers pay billions of dollars in real estate commissions every year. We cannot be bound by a settlement that prevents our ability to protect competition in a market that profoundly affects Americans’ financial well-being.”
According to the Justice Department, the complaint filed last fall alleged that NAR established and enforced certain rules and policies that illegally restrained competition in residential real estate services. The proposed settlement sought to remedy those illegal practices and encourage greater competition among realtors, but it also prevented the department from pursuing other antitrust claims relating to NAR’s rules.
NAR spokesperson Troy Green told Inman via a e-mail statement that, “This is a complete, unprecedented breach of agreement by the Department of Justice to withdraw its consent from a fully negotiated settlement that had been approved by the head of the Antitrust Division and we had begun to implement. The National Association of Realtors’ rules and policies have long sought to ensure fair and competitive real estate markets for home buyers and sellers.
“Grounded in our commitment to act in the best interests of buyers and sellers, we regularly update our rules and policies to protect consumers and provide transparency,” Green continued. “NAR has fulfilled all of our obligations under the settlement agreement and now DOJ is inexplicably backing out. If the Department does not live up to its commitments under the terms of the agreement, we are confident in our pro-consumer and pro-competition policies.”